The dying days of the DECU continue. Shazam! Fury of the Gods turned out to be a flop. The Flash turned out to be an even bigger flop. And Blue Beetle didn’t fare any better. Then comes Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom. At the moment, there aren’t any projections for the final DCEU film as it’s slated to come out on December 20, 2023. Or is it?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the sequel is coming off another round of reshoots in mid-June in New Zealand. The film was originally scheduled to be released in December 2022 and then in March 2023. There’s no exact word on why Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom has had some many reshoots, but based on the test screenings, it doesn’t sound as if the sequel is matching the quality of the first film. With the first official DCU film scheduled to be released in June 2025, would it be better just to scrap the entire Aquaman sequel like they did Batgirl?
The Controversy Surrounding Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom
We can’t forget the elephant in the room and that’s Amber Heard. Now, Heard’s controversy isn’t as bad as Ezra Miller‘s, but the actor’s star has massively fallen since her public Johnny Depp trial. The biggest takeaway from that trial is that fans loathe the Aquaman star. In fact, there’s a petition on change.org where fans are demanding that Warner Brothers Discovery remove Heard from the sequel. Nearly five million people have signed the petition.
Granted, the internet isn’t a strong tell for a movie’s success. However, Heard’s public image was destroyed as the actress only has one upcoming film on IMDB, which is The Lost Kingdom. There are people who won’t go out to see this film strictly because she’s in it even though the reported screen time for Mera is less than ten minutes.
The DCEU Is A Chaotic Mess Right Now
The entire DCEU is running in shambles. It isn’t just the fact that everything since Black Adam has been flopping. It’s the notion that Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom ultimately means nothing. It’s understandable why James Gunn wants to salvage this film. The first Aquaman is the only DCEU film to cross the billion-dollar mark. Obviously, everyone at Warner Brothers Discovery is hoping that magic continues here.
The same thing can be said about The Flash. Warner Brothers Discovery was hoping that the quality of the film would triumph over all the controversy surrounding it. It didn’t. However, it wasn’t just the Ezra Miller issues that caused most moviegoers to ignore The Flash. Mainstream audiences are just over the uneven quality of the DCEU. The direction of the brand is also quite evident as Aquaman won’t likely pop up in James Gunn’s DCU.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe worked because Kevin Feige paid off their long-term storytelling with Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Marvel rewarded the audience’s time and investment with a strong end to a long story. There’s no point investing in Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom when the future seems pretty dim for the character overall. Gunn stating that the character could have a sequel will feel hollow because most fans understand that he’s likely trying to make sure that the film makes it budget back.
Should Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom Be Scrapped?
This is a tricky question. Understandably, James Wan, Jason Momoa, and everyone involved worked hard on this film, so rightfully so, they want to see the sequel released. However, from a business perspective, putting Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom as a tax write-off sounds like the better move. Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Blue Beetle, and The Flash are financial failures. Anything is possible and The Lost Kingdom could turn out to be a massive profit. But audiences have clearly spoken with their wallets. They’re over the DCEU and waiting patiently for Superman Legacy.
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